Page 3 of Love Gamble

“Damon,” I reply, smiling. His usually friendly-looking mouth is flattened into a hard line, and River mentioned some extra pressure put on him by the MC. I’m not exactly sure what it’s about, as no one tells me the ins and outs of the club. I do know that Julianna has closed her office, the one where they ran their real estate empire from, so everyone can just work from home or the clubhouse instead. Damon must be helping move everything out, getting ready for when we all move into the new joint clubhouse together. I step back against the wall and just watch him.

Gray eyes, dark hair, and a smile that could tempt a nun. He’s possibly the most attractive man I’ve ever seen in my life, with a body like a professional fighter, ripped but lean, and the charm you’d warn your daughters about. And those full, perfect lips?

Yeah, I kissed those once.

My first kiss.

And probably my last from him.

I knew falling for a guy like Damon was a bad idea. Between River’s overprotectiveness, my inexperience, and our ten-year age gap, all the cards are against us. Ten years isn’t that much, is it? But in the rare moments we’ve had together, there was something between us. A spark. This time last year, I wouldn’t have been able to be in the same vicinity as Damon, but now he walks into our clubhouse like it’s his own. And I guess it is.

He drops the box off inside and then heads back out to his car. I can’t help but admire his nice ass in his blue jeans, and the swagger in his walk. I put my paintbrush down and head out the front as he gets into his car and drives away. His energy is a little darker than it once was, but hey, I guess motorcycle club life would do that to you.

Since we shared the kiss and River got into a fight with him over it, we’ve kind of kept our distance.

Except for when he came to save my life when I got kidnapped, but that is a whole different story. He put his life on the line for me and then went back to being my fucking friend. Maybe not even that. Maybe after the kiss he just thought I wasn’t worth the drama. I don’t know. But I spend a lot of my time wondering what is going on in his mind. I know that he’s been moving up in the ranks of the MC, and that he is a very ambitious man, so maybe that’s part of the reason I’m not high up on his to-do list. Feels a bit par for the course in my life right now.

“What are you doing?” River asks, making me jump as he approaches from behind.

“You scared me,” I groan, hand on my chest. I push off the wall and turn and look into his narrowed blue eyes, so different from my own hazel. He doesn’t have my red hair either, instead a thick mop of dark locks. I’ve heard many women call him attractive, but not one of them has thought him approachable. The dark, menacing aura he exudes might have something to do with it.

But to me, he’s River. My big brother, and the man I know would do anything to protect me.

“Is everything okay with you?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

I roll my eyes and copy his stance. “Yes, everything is fine. You know, besides having no idea what I’m doing with my life.”

He laughs, and I smile to myself as I notice a blue butterfly fly past us. “Corey, you are twenty. You are financially set. You have all the time in the world to figure out the rest of it.”

When Matthew died, we found out he left all of his money to River and me. Matthew was responsible like that.

River gave it all to me.

So he’s not wrong. But that doesn’t mean I want to sit at home and do nothing with my life. I’ve always been a go-getter and a high achiever, so this whole life-crisis stage is quite new to me. My mother always said to me that my worth is based off my productivity, and while we don’t have the best relationship, I do take that to heart. I think that is what is making this time in my life so hard for me. I just have no idea what I am doing.

“I suppose time is on my side,” I mutter, smiling up at him. “Where’s Bella?”

“She’s on her way now—she said you two are going out for lunch?”

“Yep.” I nod, taking a deep breath. Going to lunch is normal. It will be good to get out of here. “I need some girl time. No offense, but you’re always around.”

River laughs, and I know how much he loves that his fiancée and I are close. We’re a family, and I don’t think he could ever find a better woman for him than Bella. He found his match, and in doing so he also gave me the sister I always wanted. I don’t know what I would do without her and Julianna. Romeo might be my cousin, but Julianna and Bella have filled the role of female friends for me. Something I was always lacking growing up, mostly due to my strained relationship with my mother.

I head back inside and grab my handbag and phone and apply some lip oil. Bella pulls up just as I step back outside.

“Perfect timing,” I say as I open the door of her BMW and slide in. She looks beautiful, as usual, dressed in all black, and with her long dark hair it causes her gray eyes to pop even more. She has a striking beauty that others could only dream of. And even more importantly, she is the kindest soul.

“You know I like to be punctual,” she says with a grin. She puts the car into reverse and starts to speed back down the driveway when River comes running out, so she stops and rolls her window down.

“You weren’t going to even stop and say hello?” he asks, leaning in to kiss her.

I roll my eyes. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Most women want to bed him but are scared to stay longer than that. Where others cower, Bella stands her ground and isn’t intimated by him. She brings out a softer side of River and it’s made him a better person. I love him either way, but now he has a happiness about him that is contagious. And although I secretly am so happy for them both, I do love to give him shit about how much he has changed. Only when it comes to her, though.

To everyone else, he’s still a sociopath.

River is the one they call when they need something done without questions. His hands might be covered in blood, but his heart is pure gold. He’s protective, loyal, and deadly.

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